Tuesday, September 13th 2016
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Coca-Cola North America President Sandy Douglas today announced that their partnership to restore and protect damaged watersheds on national forests achieved a milestone of one billion liters of water restored, and that the partnership will commit to double that outcome through 2018. The 13 restoration areas are located on national forest land, which provides drinking water to more than 60 million Americans, and they ensure future generations will have access to fresh water. This public-private partnership includes community organizations and taps their collective expertise to address increasing stress on water resources during challenging budget times. Dozens of local communities and hundreds of volunteers and youth worked together on water resource management education and stewardship activities. The Carson National Forest in northern New Mexico is an example of the public-private partnerships approach. Local partners worked together to help restore an alpine meadow and enhanced a natural wetland habitat. By slowing the flow of Placer Creek, a tributary of the Rio Grande, the local team helped to restore a biodiverse meadow habitat and replenish the groundwater that contributes to the City of Santa Fe, New Mexico's water supply. The meadow restoration project is expected to replenish approximately 49 million liters of water per year. To date, Coca-Cola has contributed more than $2 million to the National Forest Foundation (NFF), a Congressionally chartered foundation, to support USDA Forest Service water restoration projects. NFF has also contributed funding, expertise and overall project management, including the meadow restoration on the Carson National Forest.